How to Get Published in
International Journals:
Part II
Copyright © 2012
Natalie Reid
www.nataliereid.com
natalie@nataliereid.com
Journal Analysis
Why?
When an editor receives your paper, it should look
exactly like a paper that the journal has already
published.
Scope of Analysis
The most recent year’s worth of issues of each
journal under consideration. However, if an
issue comes out monthly, then the most
recent four months will do.
While you will need all of these issues for your
submission analysis, you are unlikely to need
as many for your 1st analysis—the
elimination analysis.
Phase 1: Elimination Analysis
• What is the journal’s primary focus? That is, is it focused more
on the subject matter or on the discipline itself?
• Does the proportion of theory to data in your paper fit the average
proportion in the journal? [The same question applies to the
average number of graphs and tables.]
• Are the articles in the journal primarily qualitative or
quantitative? That is, do the articles
(a) mainly discuss theoretical issues, develop or compare
different theoretical approaches, or attempt to synthesize different
theories, or
(b) mainly present and analyze empirical material (data)?
Elimination Analysis, cont.
• Does the journal usually take papers focusing on a small
question or a large question?
• Has the journal published a similar paper in the past two years?
If so, is it likely to publish another one soon?
• Does your paper amplify, contradict, or rebut either data,
methodology, or theorizing in a paper that the journal has
published within the past year or two?
• Do the article titles indicate that your subject matter—and
breadth or narrowness of focus—is compatible with the journal?
Elimination Analysis, cont.
• From what countries do most of the authors come, and from
which universities? If your country is underrepresented, does
your paper have a better or worse chance of being published?
A corollary question is:
Does the journal take most of its articles from professors at
highly ranked universities? Will you be able to compete in such
a market?
• Are the references and citations from all over the world or from
a specific country—or from specific theorists? And will your
paper, if it involves research in your country (or another
country) alone, cite mostly national and regional references
(e.g., Iberian)?
Elimination Analysis, cont.
• Has the journal published a paper about your region (e.g.,
Benelux, North Africa, Southeast Asia) in the past two years? If
so, does your paper tie your country’s data into much larger
regional or world issues? Can you compare your country’s data
to that of other countries?
• If you are using statistical analyses such as regression analyses,
factor analyses, principal component analyses, or cluster
analyses, to what extent does the journal publish articles with
similar types of analyses?
• Does your paper have the depth of content, and do you have the
sophistication of writing style, to match the papers that the
journal publishes?
Phase 2: Submission Analysis
• Analyze your journal of choice for content,
organization, linguistic cues (e.g., choice of
words), length of sections, etc.
• Analyze its abstracts for style, and copy the
most common style for yours.
Basis for Submission Analysis
• Use the most recent year’s worth of issues.
• Use more if necessary, if some of the issues
are “guest editor” or “special” issues.
• Don’t rely heavily on older issues, as editorial
preferences tend to change with new editors.
Indicators for Analysis
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paper length (with and without references)
footnotes or endnotes?
average number of footnotes/length of footnotes
average section length/introduction/conclusion
average sentence/paragraph length
average abstract length
UK, US, CAN English (which does the journal prefer or which is most
common?) (If you have a clear choice, use the one with which you are
most familiar.)
• vocabulary: “paper”? “article”? “study”? A mix of both “article” and
“study”?
• vocabulary: “teenagers”? “adolescents”? “young people”? [always
use the term that the journal uses, not necessarily the one that is the
most direct translation from your first language]
Indicators for Analysis, cont.
• vocabulary: use of “I” or “we”
• language: mostly active or passive?
• names of scholars, scientists, or papers most commonly cited—be sure
to cite them as well
• average number of citations (i.e., a lot of quotations or few)—and
where they tend to occur (e.g., mostly in Introduction)
• average # of articles from your country or region
• titles: are they serious or clever? Do they have subtitles? If so, which
are longer? Do they show a linguistic pattern (e.g., series of 3 nouns,
short title/long subtitle)?
• order of sections (e.g., does theory precede methodology or vice versa)
• names of sections (e.g., Conclusions, Discussion, Concluding
Remarks)
Indicators for Analysis, cont.
• types of headings and subheadings: how many, how often, what
kind of language (words, phrases? long, short?)
• absence or presence of a contextualizing paragraph (“Section 1
does this, Section 2 does that”)
• type of sentence length (i.e., fairly direct short sentences, with
added length coming from lists rather than from grammatical
complexity, or long sentences with great structural complexity)
• both content and linguistic patterns in Introductions and
Conclusions (e.g., 1st paragraph does X, 2nd paragraph does Y,
3rd paragraph does Z) (e.g., Conclusions paragraphs all begin
with short first sentences)
Indicators for Analysis, cont.
• language: do Conclusions use weak verbs (“indicate”) or strong
ones (“show/demonstrate”)?
•
Do articles tend to use “I/we” or not in the purpose statement?
– This article presents and discusses recent developments in
(this) and analyzes their effectiveness in terms of the theory
of (that).
– In this paper we argue and present evidence that recent
developments in (this) have a significant effect on (that).
Short Submission Analysis
[Adapted from “Getting Published in International Journals” by
Natalie Reid (NOVA, Oslo: 2010), p. 224.]
• Writers: Almost exclusively American (tough luck)
• Titles: Very spunky—if you can find a good pun, they will like
it. Quite long, loaded with concepts in the subtitle.
• Abstracts: They foreground the empirical work. Often they
supply details on the concrete empirical material and the main
structure of the analysis, and they outline the conclusion and
contribution. They may do so through positioning the study in
relation to the existing field.
Submission Analysis, cont.
• Introduction: Regardless of the substantial topic of
investigation, they often talk about “sociology.” They often
bring in some “grand old man” in the very beginning—e.g.,
Goffman or Durkheim.
• General layout: After a shorter or longer introduction and
theoretical part, there is always a part termed “methods and
data,” where they often give quite fine details about their
fieldwork. Then comes an empirical section, where they analyze
this material, and here they use most of their space. They end
with a rather brief discussion and conclusion.
Other Observations from Various
Journal Analyses
• The personal pronouns “I” and “we” were seldom used, but
“this ‘study’ or ‘analysis’ does [so-and-so]” is common.
• Both male and female contributors.
• Heavy on theory, but the articles are almost always based on
empirical stuff.
• Most contributors are professors, but there are occasional Ph.D.
students.
• Editorial board, friend or foe? I know enough about the work of
half the editors and associate editors to know that my theoretical
orientation is similar to theirs.
• Abstracts often end with future research recommendations—
some explicit, others very implicit—or policy recommendations.
Sample Introduction Analysis
[Adapted from “Getting Published in International Journals” by Natalie Reid
(NOVA, Oslo: 2010), pp. 228.-230]
Introduction: 6-9 paragraphs (but sometimes as few as 4),
500-1200 words (mostly on longer side)
Often begins with a research question, contention, or empirical
phenomenon (first sentence):
—How can A do B?
—The questions XYZ is a central topic in literature ABC.
—Relationship between A & B has gained increased attention in recent
literature.
—A contention of theory XYZ is that factors A & B can best explain
Result C.
—A is much more frequent than B.
Sample Analysis, cont.
The rest of the paragraphs, except the last, follow the “territory-nicheoccupy niche” structure:
—First 1-3 paragraphs usually cover literature strands (territory)
• Old literature has highlighted the importance of A, B, & C.
• New literature has explored D, E, & F.
—Next 1-3 paragraphs show what remain unclear theoretically/
methodologically or econometrically (establish niche)
• Literature 1 + 2 draw critical attention to....
• Relationship between A + B and A + C (or B + C) remains
unclear. (theoretical argument)
• Furthermore, methodological problems are not resolved.
Sample Analysis, cont.
—Final 1-3 paragraphs (except last) explain how this paper solves the
problem (occupies niche) and includes description of data,
definitions, etc.
• We emphasize A, B, C....
• Building on these perspectives, I explore A + B + C.
- I define term XYZ as....
- I test data ABC with....
• The current study responds to challenges with theoretical and
empirical contributions. We argue that Theoretical Argument 1,
Methodological Argument 2, Data 3....
Sample Analysis, cont.
—The last paragraph names contributions of the paper (2 to 4-5
arguments):
• By examining XYZ..., I make several contributions: 1, 2, 3....
• Our findings indicate...Contribution 1, 2, 3....
• This article makes several contributions to the literature:
First.... Second....
This paragraph often ends with very short overall conclusions/lessons
learned:
• Overall RESULTS foster research discussion.
• RESULTS help to solve practical problems.
Abstract Analysis
Editor’s/reviewers’ first impression
• Essence of entire paper
• Both online and in some fields, only few
people read entire paper
Analyzing Abstracts for Both Phases
of Journal Analysis
• First, consider sentence information:
What does each sentence tell you in terms of the purpose,
theory, method, data, findings, or conclusions of the paper?
• Second, consider sentence purpose:
What is each sentence doing in its particular position in the
abstract, what purpose does it serve, and how is it doing
so?
Sample Abstract Analysis
[Adapted from “Getting Published in International Journals” by
Natalie Reid (NOVA, Oslo: 2010), pp. 228-230.]
Almost always 4 sentences (sometimes 3), about 100 words
—First sentence: (Data + question) typically is:
• Using...DATA, we found...RESULTS.
• With...DATA, we examine...QUESTION.
• Based on...DATA, we examine how A and B are related.
—Second & third sentences (Results 1 & 2) typically are:
• We discover...RESULT 1 (most important). We also found...RESULT
2 (corollary or secondary result).
• Findings of this study demonstrate RESULT 1 (negative relationship
between X & Y). Variable Z...RESULT 2 (Var. Z moderated this
effect).
Sample Analysis, cont.
• We found that...RESULT 1 (Var. X is positively related to
Var. Y). Both Var. X and Var. Y moderate Var. Z.
—Fourth sentence (conclusion/consequence/lesson
learned/additional result) typically is:
• These findings illustrate the benefits of applying Method A.
• Variable ZZ did not make a difference.
• We develop a theoretical framework and empirical approach
for understanding how X and Y are related.
• We present a model based on two data sets that demonstrate
how X reduces Y.
Use of “A, B, C” method
Using A, B, C Method:
This [article] [examines] A kind of [issues] [connected to/
intrinsic to] B kinds of problems: 1, 2, and 3. [It] uses
[new/recent] understandings of D to explore the “consequences
of” [considering/approaching] A issues through C, and suggests
[extensions] of the ways in which researchers define E people for
A [purposes/reasons]. [The article] concludes by examining
[some] reasons for the [relative/general] neglect of A issues in [a
specific process or context within the field].
Sample “alphabetical symbol” abstract
The literature on A has focused attention on B processes....
(tells reader that writer will do something different)
Even with the influence of B, the “literature remains imprecise....”
(sets up reason for creating new niche)
We use C to examine D. (identifies niche)
Our analysis shows.... (gives findings)
Despite E, we find no evidence of F. (conclusions about findings)
We argue G and consider its implications.
(makes point, looks towards future research)
Using “Purpose Phrases” method
—Purpose (“This article examines A issues in framing three
B problems: 1, 2, 3.”)
—Refining of purpose/methodology (“It explores the
consequences of thinking through A issues using C
methodology.”)
—Conclusions (“The article concludes....”)
Sample “Purpose Phrase”
Abstract
• Abstract for presenting a new model (3-4 sentences)
– Purpose (We present a model of....)
– Explanation of model (Model exhibits # of features
that....)
– Conclusion (Model sheds light on A, as well as on
B.)